Unite to fight terrorism: Xi to SCO nations

Chinese President Xi Jinping has appealed to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states to join hands to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, besides supporting each other on issues related to sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In his first speech as the Chinese President at the just- concluded summit of the six-member bloc, Xi said the SCO countries should support each other on issues related to sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, political system, social stability, and development models.
Xi also called for the implementation of a convention on combating the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism for regional stability and security and the establishment of a centre for comprehensive response to security threats and challenges.

China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are members in the Beijing-backed security grouping while India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have observer status in it.
The summit that took place at Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan concluded yesterday.
The SCO members, he said, should work jointly to combat the "three evil forces," help Afghanistan realise peace and stability, and safeguard regional security, state-run Xinhua new agency quoted him as saying yesterday.

Like the Central Asian states located in the backyard of Afghanistan, China too was concerned about the fallout of the withdrawal of American troops from Kabul.
China's Xinjiang province, which shares borders with Afghanistan, is facing a major unrest there due to conflict between native Uygur Muslims and Han settlers.

China says East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), an Al Qaeda-backed separatist outfit is active in the province.
Chinese experts saw anti-terrorism work as topping the agenda of this year's SCO summit due to the complicated regional situation in the wake of the global economic downturn, the possible spill-over of the Arab Spring movement, as well as the US decision to withdraw its military from war-stricken Afghanistan in 2014.
Among Afghanistan's neighbours, five are current SCO members or observers.